Assembly of the machine, when it arrives, does not take a degree and can be done in just a matter of minutes. It’s amazing considering that this is not a novice metal detector, that’s what I like about Safari model, it’s simple and it comes in just a few parts.

The coil, the lower shaft, upper shaft & control box and then the arm-strap.

You simply attach them all together and you are about ready to go, the arm-strap at the top is adjustable for your extra comfort also.

Not only this but you can move the arm-rest if it is in the wrong position for you.

I have arms like a T-Rex so this would be perfect for me.

The shaft length is something you can also alter, again for me this is a much-appreciated design feature, as I’m rather short.

The control panel has an LCD display, and not to many buttons keeping it less complicated to navigate.

They are also positioned really well, which gives another nice touch to the design, letting you operate without having to spend to much time looking at the panel.

Buttons and Modes of the Minelab Safari

There are just 11 buttons on the Safari, which as I have said previously makes it less complicated to understand and operate. Along with an LCD display that is also easy to operate and read. The buttons are as follows.

Power, which of course switches on and off. Or by holding resets the detector.

Coin & Jewelery which puts the detector into the coin & jewelery mode.

Coin which activates the coin mode.

Pinpoint which turns the pinpoint feature on & off, allowing you to locate the exact position of a target.

Minus & Plus buttons, these are used in conjunction with the menu button, letting you navigate through the options and change settings.

Menu which accesses different stages and options of the Safari.

Relic activates the relic hunting mode.

All Metal which activates the all metal mode.

Noise cancel, searches for the quietest operating frequency.

Accept & Reject, if pressed while in detecting mode, accepts or rejects the located target.

The Minelab Safari’s LCD screen displays a depth Gauge, allowing you to view the approximate depth location of the target.

A Target ID number which gives us a better clue of the identification of the target, it’s displayed with numbers from -10 through to +40 different targets will bring up different numbers, and you can use this to discriminate against certain metal compositions.

There is a mode indication symbol which tells us which mode we are in and if we have modified a mode, and saved it.

Battery life icons.

Target Icons which indicates which lets us know what it is we are likely to have located, I have to say the reviews from around the internet are mixed on this, with some saying it works well but others not so impressed and finally a graphic indication bar used for discrimination patterns.

FBS Multiple frequency technologies which stand for full band spectrum the Safari simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a full band of 28 frequencies. In human terms, this means that it combines multiple frequencies for the best metal detection output.

This provides the Minelab Safari with even more information about a target and the surrounding environment than is possible with other single frequency or BBS metal detectors.

The Minelab Safari allows us to adjust sensitivity, threshold, target volume, discrimination and much more giving us a more accurate hunt according to our terrain.

You can create custom modes and save them also which is really handy.

There are the standard preset modes which are already set up for different items also.

Pinpoint with audio and visual indicators for a more accurate detecting experience press the pinpoint button and the Safari will zone-in on the precise location of that precious target, allowing you to spend less time at each hole, and increasing your find rate throughout the day.

Around the world there have been so many amazing reviews for the Safari, it’s hard to pick out what aspect of the machine people are most happy with.

Another important factor is that this model has many many reviews from buyers all over the web, which is another good factor when it comes to the Minelab Safari metal detector.

I have to say the power of this machine and depth capabilities for the price is astounding.

Pros and Cons of the Minelab Safari

Pros:

Amazing depth capability, reports of up to around 14″

A very accurate machine with good to trash ratios

Simple enough for beginners, good enough for pro’s

Lightweight and robust, allowing a very comfortable day of detecting.

Cons:

Not fully waterproof although Minelab mentions it being OK in light rain.

Eats batteries (rechargeable are a must have unless you want to remortgage your house)

Videos of the Minelab Safari

For the price this machine truly can’t be beaten in my opinion, the power and accuracy are equally as good as machines twice its price.

I wish they would have made it fully waterproof, they do state it’s OK in light rain but it’s not something you should really risk.

I feel like the Safari is one of the best machines on the market, just looking at reviews from around the internet and speaking to people who have used and still use the machine, there is so much praise and recommendation for the Minelab Safari.

Related

I’m one of the founders of this blog. A 32 yr old from Lincolnshire & proud father of 3 beautiful children. My first metal detector was a garret ace 150 but I am currently using the Garrett ace 400i. My best find was a roman coin. Feel free to ask me any questions.

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Howard H. Halkar - August 20, 2017

The Safari is without a doubt the most powerful detector I have ever owned. Mine detected a chamber pot at 22″.Another item to add to the “Pro” list is that Andy Sabisch wrote an excellent book on operating the Safari (The Minelab Quattro & Safari Handbook).This book should be required reading for all Safari and Quattro owners. My only complaint about the Safari is that it doesn’t have a backlight for low light conditions. Most of the area’s I hunt are trashy so I use either a 5×10 Joey coil or a 5″ round DD coil. Using the Joey I haven’t noticed any loss of depth over the standard 8×11 coil. The 5″DD is the best choice for extremely trashy area’s without too much loss of depth. I have owned many detectors over the years and the Safari is by far my favorite one.Kudo’s Minelab!

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Thank you, Howard! Your comment will be really useful for others considering how many details you’ve added. I’m quite curious how you’ve got such a good depth metal detection. Had you the chance to test this model on the beach as well?

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I’m all for a critical and analytical thinking, so if you had any problems with this model please share with us. I want to offer a real review and that’s why I’m always looking to collect as much user input as well and to read other reviews.

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I can’t see were the lightweight bit comes in I am 70 I’ve had to spend 100od quid for a harness .I’ve tried all different settings what ever I do i can’t make head nor tale of the orchestra it’s playing ,I bought this when I was working now i can’t afford to change it I am stuck with it it’s no pleasure I assure you

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Hi Dave, I’m really sorry to hear that you weren’t able to get the right settings. I don’t have this model, but I think I can help you out with a video at least. Here are the settings for silver coins, more info in the videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3avkqIscag

Try it out, see if you can adjust it to mine for some silver coins. It’s not going to be easy to find some silver coins, but for sure if you have some settings that others are using you will greatly improve your success rate!

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Sorry Dave , instead of bleating about the machine , go out and learn what it’s telling you. Found multiple coins including 2 silver on first outing with it in coin mode , no alterations to the factory settings. Excellent depth , 12 inch with no problems using the stock coil. On the beach this detector excels with fishing weights dug from 18 inch deep. True, it plays tunes better than a flute but if you listen to what its telling you…….. happy days.

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I have been using a Safari for beach and farm land for the past 10 months, its my 1st metal detector. I have had £1 coins & pre-decimal pennies down to 14″ on the beach. True is does produce a wide range of tones but these along with the target ID numbers help you to decide which targets to dig. I personally hunt with “Conductive Tones” and in this mode low conductivity targets like thin hammered coins give a low tone & highly conductive targets like iron will give you a very high tone. It will give you false signals on deep iron if you swing too fast but slow your swing, pass the coil over the target from different angles & if the target ID is all over the place – walk on. Slow & low is the motto with FBS machines as they need time to process the data from multiple frequencies. Andy Sabisch’s book is a MUST read & Gordon Heritage’s video explains “Cross saving” programs, a very useful Safari function. Good luck & happy hunting.

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